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South African Mines Make Strides in Safety with 100% Employee
Alcohol Testing
By Nicola Grun
Precision Safety Appliances (PSA) based in Durban, South Africa
has been an exclusive
Lifeloc distributor in South Africa since 2005. PSA offers
Lifeloc breath alcohol testinginstruments to a number of industries
including Mining, Law Enforcement, Oil and Gas,
Manufacturing, Transportation, Port Operations, Rail,
Construction and Healthcare Facilities. I
recently spoke with Michael Crossland, Product Manager of the
Substance Abuse Division forPSA, to learn more about the recent
Mining Industry successes of Lifelocs new SENTINEL
Alcohol Screening Systemsince its introduction. Michael was
happy to share his success with
me.
Background
PSA markets and sells Lifeloc products and fulfills its
customers service needs
throughout the product life cycle. As an authorized Lifeloc
service center, PSA performsmaintenance and calibration on Lifeloc
testing devices. Michael visited the companys Colorado
headquarters in 2011 to become a certifiedLifeloc Master
Trainer.This certifies him to trainCalibration and Service
Technicians, Equipment Operators and Provisional Instructors.
PSA
shares the same service philosophy as Lifeloc: both strive to
provide the best after-sales customer
service possible. PSA also assists its customers with
professional advice and recommendationsfor establishing substance
abuse policies in the workplace.
South African mines are governed by Act 29 of that countrys 1996
Mine Health and
Safety Act stipulating that it is the owners responsibility to
identify and address potentially
hazardous work conditions. In 2003 the countrys mining sector
made a commitment to reducemining deaths by 20% per year and set
its sights on achieving safety levels comparable to mines
in Australia, Canada and the United States. The Mine Health and
Safety Inspectorate of South
Africa enforces these standards to reduce deaths and
occupational injuries. The efforts are
paying off as is evidenced by the 2010fatality rate of 128, a
decrease from 270 deaths in 2003.According to Michael, Demand for
The SENTINEL continues to increase from the mines and
other safety-sensitive industries looking to take their safety
performance to the next level.
Guarding Mine Safety with The SENTINEL
Lifelocs SENTINEL Alcohol Screening Systemis now usedextensively
in South African mines. It provides automated zero
tolerance breath testing which has become an essential element
of South
African mine safety. It offers automated testing that suits the
diversityand large employee population of the mining industry well.
Test
recovery time between subjects is immediate on negative results
and less
than 20 seconds on positives. To simplify operations further,
the device
is connected to a card swipe machine that monitors employee
timecards.According to Michael, The SENTINELprovides a cost
effective, reliable
and totally automated solution for routine daily testing of
large employee
http://www.lifeloc.com/sentinel.aspxhttp://www.lifeloc.com/sentinel.aspxhttp://www.miningsafety.co.za/dynamiccontent/60/Mining-Health-and-Safety-Legislation-in-South-Africahttp://www.miningsafety.co.za/dynamiccontent/60/Mining-Health-and-Safety-Legislation-in-South-Africahttp://www.miningsafety.co.za/dynamiccontent/61/Mining-Safety-in-South-Africahttp://www.miningsafety.co.za/dynamiccontent/61/Mining-Safety-in-South-Africahttp://www.miningsafety.co.za/dynamiccontent/60/Mining-Health-and-Safety-Legislation-in-South-Africahttp://www.miningsafety.co.za/dynamiccontent/60/Mining-Health-and-Safety-Legislation-in-South-Africahttp://www.lifeloc.com/sentinel.aspxhttp://www.lifeloc.com/sentinel.aspx
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populations. Because of the high volume of people entering the
mines through turnstiles
throughout the day, a SENTINELautomated alcohol screening
station installed at eachturnstile enables easy screening of
everyone entering the mine. No employee or supervisor
training is required. There are no mouthpieces to worry about
and best of all the security staff is
free to work elsewhere on site.
The SENTINELscolor LCD screen guides employees effortlessly
through testing.
Internationally recognized color icons prompt users to blow into
the collection cone and the two-
second test is triggered automatically. Negative (no alcohol)
results register immediately andpositive results are detected in
less than 10
seconds. Test results are instantly relayed to the
access control system to allow or deny entry.Michael commented
that, Testing is so fast and
easy the mines are now able to conduct 100%
employee testing in less time and at lower cost
than it previously took to do random employee
screening with handheld breathalyzers. PSAsfirst mining customer
now screens 100% of
employees entering the site versus a previousrandom testing rate
of just 30%. Approximately 2,000 employees are routinely screened
through
five turnstiles daily without bottlenecks. The SENTINELcan
perform approximately 360 tests
per hour versus traditional handheld testers which operate at a
rate of about 60 persons per hour.
Service and device calibration are easy since both can be
performed in-place without
returning the unit to the factory. The inclusion of Lifelocs
proven breathalyzer technology iswhat sets The SENTINEL apart from
any other entrance-style products out there, said Michael.
The speed at which the device is able to respond and recover to
negative and positive resultsmakes it the best solution for any
customer wishing to integrate their access control and breath
alcohol testing.
PSA worked hand-in-hand with Lifeloc in development of the new
generation passivescreener. Multiple client requests for a fixed
breathalyzer system linked to an access control
system prompted PSA to research the market for solutions. Few
products existed and none met
the need for ease of use, speed and reliability. Although the
South African market is floodedwith cheap, mass produced handheld
breathalyzers that can be purchased online, Michael states
the majority of customers choose Lifeloc because of their
reliability. He concluded my interview
by stating, Safety sensitive environments cannot afford to mess
around with questionableresults. Lifeloc plans to continue working
with PSA to co-develop products for targeted market
needs. Next on the horizon is an enhanced Sentinel with
biometric capabilities.
